Done in conjunction with an international symposium for performative works, dust/collector was vastly contextual and site-specific. The event (Interchange: Simultaneity in Action) poised several performance and installation works to be synchronously executed as a melodic montage of choreographed chaos. The works were varied in media and style, and the happening was non-theatrical and very Dada. Conducted in a historic building in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Interchange sharply and smartly contrasted the juxtaposition of its setting.

With an interest to make cross-cultural connections, dust/collector took inspiration from the contexts of location and audience - seeking to draw parallel representations of ethos, history, and principled constructs. The Dutch and the early architects of Protestant moral code conceived the notion that 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' -- and as such, they do inhabit a society which is oddly imbued with the subtle regeneration of tradition, an adherence to prescribed moral conduct, and incredibly limpid order and efficiency. This performance work was a real-time tableau that narrated the shared zeal between elemental society and the individual out of element. Here, the American 'worker' (punching a time-clock, taking coffee breaks, and conversing with passersby) seizes this spotless environment in search of hidden dust and the possibility of the ultimate white glove discovery.

The performance was innocuous and transparent -- often only revealing itself during breaks and in quiet exchanges with audience members who initiated conversation. As a companion component to the performance, a limited edition bookwork was disseminated and discussed throughout the evening. The pamphlet, as an educational tool, was given an obligatory acronym title - D.U.S.T. (Developing Uniform Sanitation Techniques). As would be expected (from a Western authority), the information is overly bureaucratic and hyper confident - adding a humorous critique on the nature of cultural hybridization.

<< return to Kristin [environmental media]